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Capitalism on Marx, Engels & Weber

This, then, was the exploitation of labor, i.e., "working laborers longer than the number of hours it takes to reproduce their labor" (Collins, p. 55). But as efficiency of production increased in capitalist economies--a necessity in the competitive arena--such labor-saving means significantly reduced the basis of profit. In this crisis, Marx argued, capital had to become more monopolistic, thereby reducing the number of capitalist enterprises. Yet productive capacity continues to exceed demand--especially since so many workers are no longer employed--and this economic crisis is followed by the revolution that grows out of the class conflict that has been inherent in the capitalist system all along.

As Marx and Engels pointed out, at every stage in the development of human social organization the "classes that got the upper hand sought to fortify their already acquired status by subjecting society at large to their conditions of appropriation" (History, 1994, p. 12). The class struggle was not new. Although its form altered considerably from one type of organization to the next it was always the driving force behind the evolution of social organization.

Weber, however, was not influenced by classical economic theory and did not employ an "abstract general theory of the market" in any form (Collins, 1994, p. 82). His economic orientation followed the lead of the German school of economics which was described as either institutional or historical economics. This school did not recognize any universal economic processes but investigated, instead, the historical evolution of various kinds of economic systems. The theories of this school concentrated on stages of development such as the household economy, local markets, and the world market. Weber's interest was in understanding the kinds of economies that came before capitalism and determining how this latest system had come about. Thus, for example, Weber tried to develop...